Should Have Named This "The Overdose of Lishan Tragedy That Fails To Make Space For Anything Else"
Positive Points
1. The cast, especially Bai Lu & Cheng Lei, were just brilliant. Bai Lu probably gave the best performance of her career (at least in my opinion). Cheng Lei was great too, as he always is (though I felt his expressions were all the same in the 2nd half, I blame the writing). The cinematography felt smooth and natural. Though not overly artistic, the flow of the story felt natural. I liked that the editors chose not to overuse the filters so that it does not become distracting. The editing was consistent, though at the end of each episode, it felt like it ended abruptly. The OST was not that melodious, but it suited the vibe of the drama.
2. The female lead was written really well, and her being actually mentally ill gives it a fresh touch. The storytelling was so good for the first half. I love a smart FL always. Even if the drama might not be up to my liking, Bai Lu did not disappoint me with her character choice as always.
3. The action scenes were very limited and few, but the choreography was done exceptionally well, which felt engaging and entertaining. The parallel of the past and present in the action scenes was done brilliantly. That little duel with the flower branch between the 2 leads was a cherry on top.
Negative Points
1. What happened to Mo Xiu Yao’s character? Though the ML was made more realistic in the drama version, the main focus was that Mo Xiu Yao, though physically constrained to a wheelchair, was nowhere near considered weak. All the antagonists were afraid of him. He certainly was not someone who was at the mercy of the FL. Even in the drama version, his character was portrayed as a broken, worn-out, but a man who was strong and resilient at the start. I absolutely hate when ML/FL is suddenly made pitiful and weak deliberately to glorify the brilliance and compassion of the other lead (ML/FL). Drama Mo Xiu Yao was at his lowest point, and his struggles were relatable to me until he got healthy again. After that, his character felt more like he got sidelined to me. The divorce arc, though necessary, felt like it was done to make the FL pitiful. The ML behaved a bit out of character in my opinion (that arc I felt completely contradicts his character shown in the earlier part of the drama). A female-centric or male-centric, whatever drama it is, should not make the other ML/FL weak or make him/her suddenly do terrible out-of-character things just to make the viewers pity the main lead. Unless the story demands and a character is weak right from the start, I absolutely hate such deliberate foul play. Here in the Lishan track, Mo Xiu Yao felt too rational and calm to me in his actions. The FL here is all in all square and never needs the ML to do anything, even when she is almost executed in a false murder case. The writers promoted companionship, and although I felt it initially, it later felt missing. The only character that the writer wrote properly was the FL. The ML was written halfway, but probably the writer lost interest or forgot about him. The ML’s 2 most important problems in life were solved by the FL. The writers should have at least shown cooperation and scheming between the 2 leads for recovering that lost edict. That edict is more important to Mo Xiu Yao than Ye Li, honestly. Initially, though the dynamics between the leads were good, but later the writing suffered, and it became a cliché in my opinion. By the time I reached towards the recovery of the lost imperial edict, I felt the charm of the lead’s relationship was gone. I found their divorce arc and the rest of the plot poorly written. It started really well, but it was, as usual, like many other dramas lost the momentum and quality writing from the middle. I absolutely love female-centric dramas, but what I love more is complete storytelling where no matter which character was the main focus (Male-centric/Female-centric), all other characters, including the other ML/FL, minor characters, and antagonists, are properly written characters with depth, and they contribute something to the story instead of being written solely with purpose of complimenting or glorifying the ML/FL. They had cast an actor like Cheng Lei as the ML, but completely wasted his potential with shallow writing and failing to make his character add any value to the whole story. Due to the writing, he completely feels like a side character kept solely as the love interest of the FL without contributing anything substantial of his own to the story (screentime is not the issue for me).
2. The finale lacked the action and punch it needed to be considered as a finale (except for some parts of the last episode). This drama seriously lacked a proper antagonist. The main villains did not seem powerful, nor did they seem crazy enough to be considered antagonists. The antagonist Mo Jingli hardly feels like a villain. The Empress Dowager does not feel frightening to me either. I have seen enough dramas that have managed to build a proper antagonist with little screen time who has had enough impact on the overall story. This drama tried to focus more on the moral conscience of the antagonists instead of any proper action. Where did the FL suddenly came from in the middle of a palace coup? Moreover, why include the ML for 1 or 2 moves at the end of the battle scene of Mo Jingli with Ye Li. Either include the ML properly or don’t include him at all. How come, after that glorious defeat, Mo Jingli managed to enter the capital for a palace coup with enough soldiers? How was so many Eastern Palace supporters were spared for them to make a comeback? The military requires a lot of money. How come Mo Jingli, who was so pitiful that he deliberately pretended to be incompetent and foolish, managed to learn so many things? Where did he get the money, or manage to keep such a large army for his purpose, without the knowledge of the Empress Dowager? The politics, twists, and finale were absolutely sloppy. The entire story revolves around Ye Li’s mental illness and the tragedy of Lishan. My personal speculation is that they did not follow the novel at all due to a budget shortage. But if you did not have enough budget for writing a proper battle, climax, or politics to make the finale tense and impactful, then you should not have made this drama in the first place. The producers choose to pick out a novel with heavy warfare and politics, but fail to create any decent twists or politics that are worthy of the finale to save money. Absolutely disappointed.
3. I absolutely hated how the arc of the FL’s mental illness treatment was handled. Mental illness, no matter the reasons, is a serious issue. It does not vanish just like that. The Lishan track felt superficial to me due to such careless writing. It could have been treated better, and it’s not like the drama had a lot to focus on, as they had shamelessly misled the viewers about it being an adaptation of the original novel, while they took absolutely nothing from it except the names of the characters and Mo Xiu Yao’s white hair. Once Ye Li came to her senses and faced the truth of Lishan, her illness was cured just like that. The writers created such a melodramatic divorce arc and made the ML chase the FL to Lishan with white hairs but as soon as they came face to face, all the ML says is that “The past graviences has nothing to do with the FL” and baam the divorce issue gets completely forgotten by all. Even after her memory came back, they did not have a proper talk to sort it out.
4. Princess Ling Yun was shown as such an intelligent woman who absolutely did not trust her maid, Su Zui Die. How come she was suddenly killed by her like that? It felt absolutely odd. How come Mo Xiu Yao did not know anything about his wife being framed for murder? Mo Xiu Yao’s best friend and his family did not inform Mo Xiu Yao about his wife being in such serious trouble. The FL manages to get the supposed to be super intelligent but actually suddenly foolish ex-fiancé of her husband to publicly confess everything so that she can be captured (who plotted for years and murdered the super smart princess and framed another super-intelligent princess consort).
PS. It’s a request to the drama makers not to promote the dramas as an adaptation of a novel when they, for whatever reasons, won’t take anything from the novel except for the names. It’s completely misleading and highly disappointing to the novel readers who got hyped over nothing. This drama deviated so much from the novel that it should probably be called an original script instead of a novel adaptation.
PS. Though I did not want to mention the novel, if the Novel Mo Xiu Yao watched the action of the drama Mo Xiu Yao (especially towards Ye Li), he would have slapped him from dawn to dusk and might even chase him with a sword to kill him (Probability is 1000%).
1. The cast, especially Bai Lu & Cheng Lei, were just brilliant. Bai Lu probably gave the best performance of her career (at least in my opinion). Cheng Lei was great too, as he always is (though I felt his expressions were all the same in the 2nd half, I blame the writing). The cinematography felt smooth and natural. Though not overly artistic, the flow of the story felt natural. I liked that the editors chose not to overuse the filters so that it does not become distracting. The editing was consistent, though at the end of each episode, it felt like it ended abruptly. The OST was not that melodious, but it suited the vibe of the drama.
2. The female lead was written really well, and her being actually mentally ill gives it a fresh touch. The storytelling was so good for the first half. I love a smart FL always. Even if the drama might not be up to my liking, Bai Lu did not disappoint me with her character choice as always.
3. The action scenes were very limited and few, but the choreography was done exceptionally well, which felt engaging and entertaining. The parallel of the past and present in the action scenes was done brilliantly. That little duel with the flower branch between the 2 leads was a cherry on top.
Negative Points
1. What happened to Mo Xiu Yao’s character? Though the ML was made more realistic in the drama version, the main focus was that Mo Xiu Yao, though physically constrained to a wheelchair, was nowhere near considered weak. All the antagonists were afraid of him. He certainly was not someone who was at the mercy of the FL. Even in the drama version, his character was portrayed as a broken, worn-out, but a man who was strong and resilient at the start. I absolutely hate when ML/FL is suddenly made pitiful and weak deliberately to glorify the brilliance and compassion of the other lead (ML/FL). Drama Mo Xiu Yao was at his lowest point, and his struggles were relatable to me until he got healthy again. After that, his character felt more like he got sidelined to me. The divorce arc, though necessary, felt like it was done to make the FL pitiful. The ML behaved a bit out of character in my opinion (that arc I felt completely contradicts his character shown in the earlier part of the drama). A female-centric or male-centric, whatever drama it is, should not make the other ML/FL weak or make him/her suddenly do terrible out-of-character things just to make the viewers pity the main lead. Unless the story demands and a character is weak right from the start, I absolutely hate such deliberate foul play. Here in the Lishan track, Mo Xiu Yao felt too rational and calm to me in his actions. The FL here is all in all square and never needs the ML to do anything, even when she is almost executed in a false murder case. The writers promoted companionship, and although I felt it initially, it later felt missing. The only character that the writer wrote properly was the FL. The ML was written halfway, but probably the writer lost interest or forgot about him. The ML’s 2 most important problems in life were solved by the FL. The writers should have at least shown cooperation and scheming between the 2 leads for recovering that lost edict. That edict is more important to Mo Xiu Yao than Ye Li, honestly. Initially, though the dynamics between the leads were good, but later the writing suffered, and it became a cliché in my opinion. By the time I reached towards the recovery of the lost imperial edict, I felt the charm of the lead’s relationship was gone. I found their divorce arc and the rest of the plot poorly written. It started really well, but it was, as usual, like many other dramas lost the momentum and quality writing from the middle. I absolutely love female-centric dramas, but what I love more is complete storytelling where no matter which character was the main focus (Male-centric/Female-centric), all other characters, including the other ML/FL, minor characters, and antagonists, are properly written characters with depth, and they contribute something to the story instead of being written solely with purpose of complimenting or glorifying the ML/FL. They had cast an actor like Cheng Lei as the ML, but completely wasted his potential with shallow writing and failing to make his character add any value to the whole story. Due to the writing, he completely feels like a side character kept solely as the love interest of the FL without contributing anything substantial of his own to the story (screentime is not the issue for me).
2. The finale lacked the action and punch it needed to be considered as a finale (except for some parts of the last episode). This drama seriously lacked a proper antagonist. The main villains did not seem powerful, nor did they seem crazy enough to be considered antagonists. The antagonist Mo Jingli hardly feels like a villain. The Empress Dowager does not feel frightening to me either. I have seen enough dramas that have managed to build a proper antagonist with little screen time who has had enough impact on the overall story. This drama tried to focus more on the moral conscience of the antagonists instead of any proper action. Where did the FL suddenly came from in the middle of a palace coup? Moreover, why include the ML for 1 or 2 moves at the end of the battle scene of Mo Jingli with Ye Li. Either include the ML properly or don’t include him at all. How come, after that glorious defeat, Mo Jingli managed to enter the capital for a palace coup with enough soldiers? How was so many Eastern Palace supporters were spared for them to make a comeback? The military requires a lot of money. How come Mo Jingli, who was so pitiful that he deliberately pretended to be incompetent and foolish, managed to learn so many things? Where did he get the money, or manage to keep such a large army for his purpose, without the knowledge of the Empress Dowager? The politics, twists, and finale were absolutely sloppy. The entire story revolves around Ye Li’s mental illness and the tragedy of Lishan. My personal speculation is that they did not follow the novel at all due to a budget shortage. But if you did not have enough budget for writing a proper battle, climax, or politics to make the finale tense and impactful, then you should not have made this drama in the first place. The producers choose to pick out a novel with heavy warfare and politics, but fail to create any decent twists or politics that are worthy of the finale to save money. Absolutely disappointed.
3. I absolutely hated how the arc of the FL’s mental illness treatment was handled. Mental illness, no matter the reasons, is a serious issue. It does not vanish just like that. The Lishan track felt superficial to me due to such careless writing. It could have been treated better, and it’s not like the drama had a lot to focus on, as they had shamelessly misled the viewers about it being an adaptation of the original novel, while they took absolutely nothing from it except the names of the characters and Mo Xiu Yao’s white hair. Once Ye Li came to her senses and faced the truth of Lishan, her illness was cured just like that. The writers created such a melodramatic divorce arc and made the ML chase the FL to Lishan with white hairs but as soon as they came face to face, all the ML says is that “The past graviences has nothing to do with the FL” and baam the divorce issue gets completely forgotten by all. Even after her memory came back, they did not have a proper talk to sort it out.
4. Princess Ling Yun was shown as such an intelligent woman who absolutely did not trust her maid, Su Zui Die. How come she was suddenly killed by her like that? It felt absolutely odd. How come Mo Xiu Yao did not know anything about his wife being framed for murder? Mo Xiu Yao’s best friend and his family did not inform Mo Xiu Yao about his wife being in such serious trouble. The FL manages to get the supposed to be super intelligent but actually suddenly foolish ex-fiancé of her husband to publicly confess everything so that she can be captured (who plotted for years and murdered the super smart princess and framed another super-intelligent princess consort).
PS. It’s a request to the drama makers not to promote the dramas as an adaptation of a novel when they, for whatever reasons, won’t take anything from the novel except for the names. It’s completely misleading and highly disappointing to the novel readers who got hyped over nothing. This drama deviated so much from the novel that it should probably be called an original script instead of a novel adaptation.
PS. Though I did not want to mention the novel, if the Novel Mo Xiu Yao watched the action of the drama Mo Xiu Yao (especially towards Ye Li), he would have slapped him from dawn to dusk and might even chase him with a sword to kill him (Probability is 1000%).
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